rain, rain, rain - this time in Panama!

Well, rainy season it is! The last week and a half we had A LOT of rain. When we came back from Chiriquí we found the restaurant flooded. After driving most of the day, we spent the evening cleaning out the flood.

the soil in the dining terrace floor already told the story

the space with the bar is the lowes part of the house - today a pool, a muddy one

The same night, it flooded again!

And finally, on Saturday, it came down in buckets again - this time in the evening while we were there, so I could see where and how the water got into the restaurant. We worked all evening: Iris made 14 pizzas, thankfully all but 2 were to-go orders. My trusted worker Wilvert and me tried to broom out and scoop up the water as it came inside.

On Monday, we increased the height of the separating wall all around, and dug little trenches to entice the water to take other routes than to flood the restaurant.

Wilvert, next to our piece of ingenuity… 🤪

Well, today, it’s coming down again in buckets! 

The view from the front terrace at the hostal

So glad we have worked on the restaurant already! It would definitely be flooded again with all that rain!

The little riverbed we cut into the terrace floor here at the hostal works, too. Through it, the water that comes down the hill in the back of the house is leaving without causing damage.

Rain runoff from hill no longer floods the house

River bed crossing the terrace

On the other side of the property, another river develops from the runoff of the other hill. Also running down in an orderly fashion. Yeay! Just on the bottom of the property we might need to provide more guidance, I guess…

Surrounded by water… 😝

When you don’t have to worry about flooding, it is actually a very beautiful thing! Soothing sounds, feeling of being protected and safe - I could watch and listen to the rain for hours! Yet, it rains like this only for 1/2 hour, then quiets down for a few hours, before the next downpour…

Priorities - or - short term vs long term thinking

With a daily wage of 20$ for 8 hours of hard work in the sun, the three top priorities of locals when building a house are how much it costs, how much they have to pay for it, and how much money is needed. The rest is pretty much irrelevant!

I am not swimming in money myself, but, I am able to consider other factors and arrange priorities a little differently with our house.

My thought is, construction of the house is taking a few months. But you’ll live in it many, many years. So, if you make the construction easier and cheaper, you get the benefit during these few months while building. If, however, you make maintainability and adjustability a higher priority, you reap the benefits for all the years you live there.

Of course, a company who builds homes to sell, doesn’t care about anything after the sale. But I do!

Here are some of the topics that I considered, and the ideas and solutions I came up with:

Electrical and water pipes:

They are usually inside the walls. When the walls are sticks with drywall on top it already is a lot of trouble to fix any problems with these pipes or to extend them in some way. Here in Panama, the walls are concrete. If you need to open one to get at pipes, you need a jackhammer! And whatever was not yet broken about the pipe is surely going to be completely destroyed once the wall is open!

I chose to put my pipes outside the wall, and cover them up with wooden cladding, which is fastened by screws, not nails. If you need to get at them, simply unscrew three, four screws and there you go!

electrical pipes covered behind wood

Waterpipes visible, thus in copper instead of pvc

Drain clean-outs:

There’s no maintenance issue more troublesome to me than clogged drain pipes. Except, clogged drainpipes that are not accessible! 

For that reason, i put clean-out plugs everywhere! Every toilet and shower drain has such a access point right outside, on the other side of the bathroom wall. On every corner and every endpoint of the main drain pipe there’s an access point as well.

zoom in to see the access points for the snake

I put a lot of effort into ensuring the drains are all following the 2-3% declination rule, so I’m thinking (hoping) I won’t have many issues of clogged pipes. But if there’s one, at least it’s easy to get the snake to where the clog is!

Wall coloring:

painting your house is a very costly and/or work intense job. Having concrete walls, it’s possible to avoid having to paint your house for as long as you live! The trick is, using “tinta” with white concrete. That way, the wall “is” colored by itself, and does not need coats of paint. No paint, no need to renew paint!

I used yellow tinta - it goes well with the green of the land and the red of the roof and tile floor

Sun, rain, and high humidity:

There are three big issues in the tropics with which your building has to cope: Sun, rain, and humidity.

The sun heats up roof and walls, making the inside be like a baking oven - if your architecture doesn’t have a way to get rid of the heat easily and without lots of equipment and energy effort.

I raised the roof a bit above the concrete, and leave the space between them free, so hot air can easily escape to be replaced by fresh, cooler air. 

Secondly, I put a wooden ceiling on top of the rooms. That insulates the concrete walls and the air inside the room from the heat radiation of the hot roof.

sufficient space between roof and concrete

No need for expensive - to buy, to install, and to operate - air conditioning systems!

The frequent, sometimes very heavy rain, turns any terrain into either a river (if it’s sloped) or a lake (if it’s level), or both!

I put the slab on top of a thick layer of gravel, which lets water run through easily. In addition, I put drainage pipes around the perimeter of the house, so that most of water is running of right away and not even getting to the gravel cushion.

notice the canal for the drainage pipes 

Slab is floating on thick cushion of gravel

No need for sump-pumps or similar equipment to deal with the abundance of water!

The humidity facilitates the growth of mold and mildew. In my experience, once the air is not moving, mold is developing very quickly. And once you have it, it’s virtually impossible to get rid of! 

I put large windows, and designed them to be able to be opened completely. That way, it is easy to keep the air moving in the rooms - simply leave the windows open…

Side windows can by tilted up - 100% open, sash needs no space as it hangs close to the ceiling

front window is 1,8 by 3m (6 by 10 ft)

No need for expensive dehydration equipment!

No systems installed, means the least amount of maintenance effort required!

Summarizing 

I tried to build a sustainable, easy to maintain, comfortable, and healthy home. I’m sure there are many more topics and ideas that could be considered and dealt with. But so far, it feels really good living in the space!

tranquil, sustainable, comfortable, affordable tropical living

year-round fruits in season - currently “tetas de chola”

 ok, I admit, the name “breasts of chola” made it even more interesting for me to try this fruit! 😇 As if discovering a new fruit wouldn’t be enough incentive already! 🤷‍♂️🙄😝

You don’t need much imagination to understand why that name. 

Fruit quarters after breaking fruit apart, seeds after devouring the flesh, and the whole fruit

The fruit has five large seeds inside, bedded in tasty, orange fruitflesh. To eat it, I find it easiest to tear off the stem, then score the skin twice all around, and then break the quarters apart. Then it’s easy to bite out the seed from the peel, and suck off the fruitflesh.

I can not describe the flavor, only can say it’s really nice. It’s a velvety consistency, is flavorful, and sweet but not overly so. Also doesn’t have much acidity. 

To me, it’s a great little snack, when I’m feeling a little peckish, or just feel for a little sweet something…

Purpose of Life

Yesterday, after two days of not a single guest at the restaurant Mana Pizza Yolo, finally there were some visitors again! Among them three girls, who are staying at the hostal across the street. One is from Canada, one from New Zealand, and the third from the Netherlands.

I immediately noticed their awesome vibes. And before I could even explain the menu, a wonderful, deep conversation had started! As happens to be the case so often these days when I'm in the restaurant, the topic was the purpose of the human species on the planet, how to find and live our individual purpose in the world, and how to find happiness and fulfillment.

Sarah tried to take notes on her phone of various ideas and perspectives, so I pointed her to the Tool of the Universe blog.

One of the core aspects of the "tool of the Universe" world-view is, that the Universe guides us through coincidents into situations either that help us grow, or where we are needed, or (most often) both. 

This conversation was just such an experience again! It seemed to me, that they were very ready for just exactly the ideas I am able to share. Many questions were asked. Many aspects were touched upon.

Through this conversation they got answers to many questions they couldn't find answers before, a new and different perspective to view the world opened for them. And for me it was really nice, too. I've been searching all my life to find answers to these questions, and through these curious and open-minded youngsters, I was able to share the insights I was given along the way. And, as so often, their questions helped me, too, to delve even deeper and understand even better how it all fits together!

What took me a life-time to figure out, I shared in 1/2 hour. Now they can use their life-time to build on top of my insights. And when they are in their 60s, youngsters will most likely come into their life, and they will be able to share two life-times worth of wisdom with these youngsters...

Situations like this make feel hopeful for the world, that humanity is not going to self eradicate but will figure out how to live within the system without changing it to the point where humans no longer can exists. And, these conversations make me feel I shouldn't sign off just yet, because I still am useful on this planet!

When people want to hear about why I'm there, I'm explaining that my land and house are in Chiriquí (5 hours by car or a full day traveling by bus) but my heart is here in Santa Catalina. She's baking the best pizzas in town, as over and over customers have been enthusiastically proclaiming. 

Now, my heart does come with me to Camarón Arriba, when I go there to continue with the development of my house. So theoretically, she could just stay there with me. We could close the restaurant, sell the house that's planned to be the Hostal Un Mundo, and both retire to my place.  But...

Iris delights in surprising her clients with her wonderfully looking, and super tasty meals. It is a lot of work, but it provides happiness and fulfillment to her. And even though the restaurant is just barely paying for its costs, it is these opportunities for conversations that make me want to hold on to it, too.

After all, we're not here just to be comfortable, but to make a contribution to the continuation of the development of this creation! So, I guess, as long as we both have the energy to continue, we'll both be living mostly in Santa Catalina, Veraguas - welcoming and surprising our guests with our specialties for their body and their soul...

Leave the planning to the Universe...

When in Santa Catalina I spend most evenings at Iris' restaurant. Most of the guests there are travellers from other parts of the world: Europe, US, even South Africa and South America, too. 

Most often a conversation develops with one or the other group, usually about finding purpose and happiness in your life. So many of the folks in their 30s that end up visiting the restaurant are on an extended trip, with the purpose of finding purpose, fulfillment, and their mission. 

This is the topic I have searched about for all my life, and spent many, many days and nights pondering. Those who know me, know that I have found a different world-view, one that makes the quest for happiness and fulfillment much easier. 

Quite frequently the conversation becomes very inspiring - for them, because it is a completely different perspective and a completely new way to look at life, thus, holding a tremendous potential to get ahead in their quest. And for me, every young person, who is interested in more than just their own comfort, gives me hope that humanity might still be able to survive on this planet and not destroy it to the point where it becomes impossible for humans to live.

One of the key insights that I a often try to convey is, that leaving the planning and arranging up to the Universe works much better, than trying to do it yourself.

Despite how much humanity so far has figured out and come to know and understand, compared to how much there would be to know we are really barely at the beginning stages.  Try to draw a graph, with "0 knowledge" on one side, and "knowing all" on the other side. Then put a mark to where a potato-peeler would fall on this line, and where a dog, and where you, and where humanity as a whole. These 4 marks would be pretty much at the same spot - basically at the "0 knowledge" end - even if you were to draw the graph 4 km long...

With that realization in mind, how stupid and arrogant for us to think we should be in control of what's happening. Praying for something (or the newer idea of using your sub-conscience to manipulate what's coming to you) is just that. Acting, as if you know what is best to happen. God (or whatever you call it) needs a reminder and a pointer to know what to arrange for? Well, it makes no sense, and it obviously doesn't work! Never has (as far as I can observe) and never will (as far as I can imagine).

What does work, though - at least as much as I can observe and notice - is to leave the planning and arranging up to the Universe, and put your effort into trying to understand what is coming your way and why!

Since the first time this thought occurred to me more than 15 years ago until today, I have seen it over and over and over again, that whatever came my way needed something, and it was highly likely to actually happen, just because I am me, I behave as I do, react as I do, am passionate about what I am, have the skills, knowledge and experiences that I have. Also, it most often was exactly what I needed, too - not necessarily for my own comfort or ego, but for me to make the next step in my development to become an even more sophisticated, more capable tool that the Universe can use to get certain things accomplished.

BTW, I am much more "productive" when I am happy. It seems, that the Universe is aware of that, and takes care of that, too! I eventually get everything that I need to be happy and well taken care of - both spiritually, as well as physically!

My experience is, that the less I focus on what "I want", and instead focus on what I can "contribute", the more I get what I really need - automatically, by itself, without me having to do anything else except recognize, accept and embrace it when it shows up!

My life used to be full of struggle and always felt like running a steep slope uphill, swimming against the current. Well I was! Because I ignored where the current was going! Heck, I didn't even realize there was a current! Now, I still have to work, I still am often clueless, I still experiences crises, I still have to put effort into whatever I am doing - but, my life is full of amazing experiences, awesome rewards and accomplishments, and fulfilled, meaningful, and happy! 

The simple change I attribute all of this: I stopped focusing on what I want, what I plan, what I want to accomplish, and instead focus on what the Universe might hope to get done when it sends my way whatever shows up in my life.

It just like in a good job: If you focus on your work, the money shows up automatically in your account!

rain, rain, rain, rain, rain

We just returned from a trip visiting my parents and family in Austria. From before we arrived, there was rain there, every day. For all 4 weeks that we were there, there was rain everyday, on and off mostly all day. It is cold, when it rains in Austria! Some mornings we had only 5C (40F). During the day, the temperature hardly ever reached 20C (68F). That’s very cold for my body, who’s used to temperatures in the 30s (above 86F)!

I mentioned to my family that in Panama we hardly ever have a day that is raining on and off all day. Well, I guess, I jinxed it! 

Since we arrived last Friday evening, as usual for the season - from about mid April to about mid December is the not-dry season here - it rained every day. And, as also usual for the season, we had sun in the morning, and rain only in the afternoon. But today, we got rain on and off all day!

Ready, able, and willing - only thing missing: customers…

For me that’s not a problem! i love the sound of the rain! And it’s by far not as hot than when it’s sunny. But i feel for the few tourists n town. For them it’s a day of their vacation…

But, hey, maybe tomorrow we get some sun again! Yeay!

So you found yourself in an existential crisis?

 So you found yourself in an existential crisis as your job is no longer available? 

So sorry about that! But also so glad about it!

Sometimes we need a crisis to kick us out of our tracks, and “motivate” us to look up and look around. 

A job crisis like this helps us realize that we’re so much more than our work! That we were not born to just be the wheel in the corporate world we are so desperately trying to be. And that there is so much more to life than (paid) work.

During the pandemia i got stuck in Europe for 6 months and was without a job. It was shocking at first, but with time more and more beautiful and eye opening!!! 

I realized how wonderful (in the literal sense: full of miracles) it is to be able to do what needs to be done, rather than what i ought to do to make money!

I also realized, that retiring in Panama is possible right away, due to low cost of living and the highly affordable real estate there; while i would have to continue to work 10 more years to retire in the US. 

So now I’m living happily in Santa Catalina, Veraguas (a fishing village turned surfers’ paradise). 

Aside of not having to endure any more cold winters, nor office politics, nor the danger of getting shot at the next mass shooting, i am now able to focus on fulfilling my purpose in this world and being the change-agent i was born and shaped to be.

We humans are no longer system perpetuators, like all the animals and plants. We are the changers! Through us this world continues to change and develop. 

Yes, we still have to do our “animal-duties” to survive and exist in this system. 

So, yes, we need to work and make money to survive, support our children, save for when we can no longer work. And our talents and passion, our knowledge and awarenesses, and our life-experiences that shape us, all enable us to get a demanding but well paid job. 

But, there are also many tasks that need to be done in this world, that do not get paid in money. These are up to be tackled by us lucky ones, who had a well paid job for many years. 

I am convinced that for many (if not most) of us the work we do in the corporate world is not our life’s purpose, is not the reason why we came into this world. Rather, it allows us to get to the point where we can stop focusing on animal tasks, and dedicate our lives to “higher causes”.

Unfortunately, too many continue with the animal-chores for way too long, and never get to make their real contribution to this creation. They hord money and status until they die or alzheimers releases them by force... 

So you found yourself in an existential crisis as your job is no longer available? 

So sorry about that! But also so glad about it!

I wish you much success in reevaluating your life, identifying your passion, figuring out your life’s real purpose, and becoming the change-agent your soul was hoping to be in this world when it chose to incarnate in you!